Xbox SSDs are now more expensive than an Xbox Series S at launch

When Microsoft first kicked off the current console generation, it opted to launch a cheaper Xbox Series S system at $299. Fast forward six years and the base-model Xbox Series S now costs closer to $400, and a 2TB expansion SSD is more expensive than the day-one price of the console itself. 

SanDisk has now launched its new expansion card SSDs for the Xbox Series X/S consoles. While this would have once been a relatively easy and cheap way to upgrade your console, current SSD pricing has gotten so insane that expanding your storage now could cost you as much as the entire console if you bought one back in 2020.

The 2TB SanDisk Optimus GX C50 expansion SSD is priced at $339.99, while a 1TB SSD expansion card costs $199.99. At one point, Xbox Series S consoles themselves were priced at around $250 for the entire system, which just goes to show how inflated the hardware market has become over the past couple of years.

The decision to opt for a proprietary expandable storage option is proving to be very expensive for Xbox customers. The situation isn't much better on PS5, but at least there, you can buy a normal M.2 SSD instead and slot it in, giving you a greater number of hardware options to choose from, and dual functionality, as the same SSD could later be repurposed for a PC or laptop. Meanwhile, these expansion cards for Xbox are only usable on the Xbox platform and you only have around two or three companies to pick from when buying one.

KitGuru Says: The pricing situation for current generation consoles continues to astound me. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like things are going to get any better by the time the next generation of consoles comes around. 

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